thanks for staying with us tonight. i'm laura evans. >> i'm maureen umeh. count down to election day, with 48 hours to go. today was the last chance for the campaigns to make their cases on the sunday morning talk shows. >> both are confidently projecting wins. melanie alnwick has the roundup. >> reporter: after 18 months and more than a billion dollars spent on campaign ads, it all comes down to the battleground states. ohio, virginia, colorado, wisconsin, among those in play, depending on which poll you believe. >> the polls are like nailing jello to a tree. >> reporter: the newest to enter the map, pennsylvania. the president's supporters say the romney push there is a hail mary pass. >> they understand the traditional or the battleground states which we've been focusing aren't working out for

them. we're even or ahead in all of them. they're looking for somewhere to try and dislodge some electoral votes to win this election. and i can tell you, that's not going to happen. >> reporter: governor romney's political director says independents will put republicans over the edge in a big way. >> i am saying that pennsylvania and michigan and minnesota are not past the 270 mr. axelrod would like to report. >> predicting over 300 electoral votes? >> it is going to be a big win for governor romney. >> reporter: most analysts believe the arrival of hurricane sandy put a pause in mitt romney's momentum and may have given president obama a slight boost. >> i think he got a hurricane bump out of his. it was part of a bigger tapestry and that is he had a good week. he got a lift out of the week. not only the way he handled the hurricane, but wet kisses from governor chris christie. >> reporter: but the economy is

still a weak point for the president. latest numbers from the labor department taking the unemployment rate back to 7.9%. >> if that is satisfactory to you, then this is acceptable, this obama administration's performance. from the folks i meet, it is unacceptable. this is not good enough for us in america. >> reporter: 27 million people have already voted, with both sides claiming the stats there are in their favor. >> we're i think in a commanding position. our big challenge is we make sure we get our vote out. it's what we're spending our time on. >> reporter: some have noted a new enthusiasm for governor romney. >> having these big rallies. i watch them on tv. they're very strong. i feel a lot of obama supporters i talked to are resigned. the romney people in the past six weeks have gone from, i am

anti-obama, therefore i'm for romney, to i like romney. they've become very pro romney. >> reporter: this has been a record-breaking campaign in many ways. record amounts of money spent. record numbers of early voters, and it's almost guaranteed to be a very late night before anyone will call this race. melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. president obama kept up the state hopping today looking to pick up every possible vote. he started the day in ohio and ended in colorado spending some time in florida in between. despite the different spots, the message is the same. >> our fight goes on because this nation cannot succeed without a growing, thriving middle class. our fight goes on because america always does best when everybody has a fair shot. and everybody does their fair share. and everybody plays by the same rules. that's what we believe, that's why you elected me in 2008.

and that's why i'm running for a second term. >> tomorrow president obama will travel to wisconsin and ohio before ending in des moines. romney is hitting ohio, virginia and pennsylvania. though pennsylvania leans democratic, the romney camp is hoping to make it a red state with a flurry of ads and tonight's rally north of philadelphia. >> we've journeyed far and wide for america's future. and now we're almost home. one final push will get us there. we've known many long days and short nights, and now we're close. the door to a brighter future is there. it's open. it's waiting for us. i need your vote, i need your work. i want you to walk with me. let's walk together. we're taking back america. >> the contest for

pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes is locked up at 47% each tonight. the latest poll numbers out show president obama and mitt romney in a dead heat. a new abc news "washington post" poll released today has both candidates tied at 48%. obama takes the lead by 1% in one poll today. d.c. police looking for leads in a deadly shooting. 22-year-old andre jackson was found shot to death in southeast. happened after 2:00 this morning. police are handing out flyers asking for help. if you know anything about the case, giver d.c. police a call. a wild police chase in saint mary county with shots fired and suspect in custody. the 44-year-old was arrested after driving in excess of 100 miles per hour on route five in leonardtown. then trying to ram a marked

police car. two deputies fired their weapons at his car, until he stopped. he is in jail charged with a number of crimes. things getting back to normal in garrett county after sandy dumped more than 30 inches of snow in the area. 95% of all state and county roads are open, and nearly all public schools will be open on regular schedule tomorrow. about 5400 customers still without power. national guard is helping with efforts. this time last week we were preparing for sandy. now talk of a nor'easter. what can we expect going into election day and beyond? gwen talbart with a last look at the forecast. >> thank you very much, laura. chilly night to begin with, and skies clearing out as a ridge of high pressure starts to build in. northerly winds are settling in. be prepared. current temperature, 39 at dulles. 39 at baltimore. 43 in d.c. and 42 to the south at fredericksburg. the jet stream is allowing the cooler air to settle in. freeze warning for our areas to

the north and west of the d.c. metro area. this kicks in monday at 4:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. any kind of sensitive vegetation, cover it up. chilly conditions across the area once again. jet stream to the south of us. what we'll be watching is this system. looks like it will develop off the southeast coast on tuesday, and by wednesday, start to move up the mid-atlantic. there's a lot of questions and variables, whether or not it will merge with another system before it ends up developing or whether it will head out to sea. the timing and intensity and track of this system are questions we're uncertain about now. might be primarily a rain event and could see strong winds and rain. election day, chilly, partly sunny. highs in the low 50s. dress warm in case you have to stand in line to get your vote.

here's a look now at our accu weather seven-day forecast, we're into sunshine as we move through into monday. few clouds. increasing clouds tuesday night ahead of that storm system. wednesday, rainy day with strong winds as we keep an eye on that system. back to sunshine in time for the weekend, and we're warming up to 60 degrees. laura, maureen? thanks very much. >> like a heat wave almost. >> really. good thing the rain isn't coming tuesday. >> true. >> that does it for us. fox5 news always on myfoxdc.com. >> sports xtra just two minutes away.   

doesn't take a math wiz to know the probability of the post season is slim. redskins 3-6 heading into the bye week. mike shanahan with sobering words. welcome to nissan sports xtra. today's return to fed ex field was filled with the pageantry of games past, homecoming game. by game's end, it left fans longing for the glory days. a visit from the panthers. rg3 and cousins out of the tunnel sporting the throwback uniforms, looking good.

skins' first possession, 3rd down rg3 hit in the head by hardy. panthers called for roughing the passer. we'll take the penalty and first and 10 at the 43. morris, off right tackle. good yards after contact. 16-yard pickup. let to a field goal, 3-0 skids. panthers' second possession, stays inbounds. you hear the whistle by the official. 30yards for the score. panthers in front 7-3. second quarter, redskins driving. robert griffin iii's pass comes down. 13-yard pickup. morgan wants to hear from the crowd. eight plays later, redskins, already converted two fourth downs on this drive. 4th and goal from the 2. rg3 denied. short of the end zone. panthers march 98 yards.

3rd and 10 from the 19. cam newton to steve smith, beating wilson on the play. 19-yard touchdown. smith's first td of the season. panthers led 14-3 at the half. redskins' first possession of the second half. beautiful pass. threads the needle. down to the 15-yard line. led to a field goal. 14-6. 14 minutes to go. panthers at their own 9, newton fakes and goes right side. edwards, huge block, steve smith, finally taken out by griffin. 82-yard gain. three plays later, newton calling his own number. number one. 1 yard touchdown. 4th of the year. 21-6panthers. skins down two. griffin not giving up. rg3 steps up and takes off in more ways than one. ouch. pin balls around by the

panthers' defense. finish the job off royster. going to find pay dirt from 2 yards out. too little, too late. redskins fall 21-13. fall to 3-6 as they hit the bye week. >> obviously very disappointed. that's when games give you a chance to play for a playoff spot, when you're 3-5 and less to get in the hunt. lose a game like that, now you're playing to see who obviously is going to be on your football team for years to come. get a chance to evaluate the players and see where we're at. obviously we're not out of it statistically. but now we find out what type of character we got, and our guys keep fighting through the rest of the season. >> wanted to come out of this game with a victory. upsetting. buwe got a bye week. we're not going to feel sorry for ourselves. i don't expect the players to feel sorry for themselves.

we'll come back ready to go. >> panthers' runningback dee angelo williams said after the game he had never been to insulted until today, when the redskins scheduled us for their homecoming game. moss with a concussion in this game. perhaps added motivation for now, the 2-6 panthers with the win. coming up, rg3 took another beating today. hit hard throughout the game. latest on his health next in the nissan sports xtra.